ATTORNEY GENERAL: No charges will be brought against Hillary Clinton in email case

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
REUTERS/Nancy Wiechec
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Wednesday said no charges would be brought against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server as secretary of state, according to Reuters.

Lynch's decision came one day after FBI Director James Comey said his agency would not recommend charges against Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

The attorney general indicated last week that she would accept the FBI's recommendation, after an impromptu private meeting between her and former President Bill Clinton drew outrage and accusations of a conflict of interest.

Lynch issued the following statement Wednesday:

"Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email system during her time as secretary of state. I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, yearlong investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation."

In his surprise press conference on Tuesday, Comey gave a scathing critique of Clinton's email practices, saying her "extremely careless" behavior could have allowed "hostile actors" to gain access to classified information. Nevertheless, he said her behavior did not meet the threshold used to prosecute past violators who acted similarly.

"Our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case," Comey said.

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Speaking to concerns that Clinton's private servers could have been hacked at some point, the director noted that investigators found no evidence of a breach.

Comey said investigators did find various classified emails on Clinton's email system, contradicting Clinton's earlier assertions that she traded no such information at the time of her service.

Authorities found:

Eight emails Clinton sent were classified as "top secret" at the time they were sent

Clinton first acknowledged in March 2015 that she used private email servers to conduct government business while she was secretary of state under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. The federal investigation into the matter began in August.